Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Life is crazy busy.  Full schedules, meetings, emails, social and professional association sites to visit and maintain and requests from family members — whew!

The thought of one more email, phone message or “to do” item is just too much.  Who has the time to stay connected to your network, possible references or past co-workers, right?

The impact of those beliefs may lead to a shrinking network or worse — you will be forgotten.  When you need your network most, it may not be there.  Relationships and networks require “care and feeding.”  If staying connected feels like a chore or a burden, your network will notice and it may negatively impact your relationships.

We all know people in our network that we haven’t spoken to in 20 years, yet the bond is so strong that when you do talk to them its as if you have chatted that morning.  Those people are the exception, not the norm.  I call them my “Ruby Connections.”  Those precious connections that will be there no matter matter what.

The truth is not all relationships are created equal.  Most business relationships need regular contact to maintain the connection.  If not, when you make a call as I did recently to an electrician, I heard, “You have been purged from our system, you would be considered a new customer and the wait for a service call is four weeks.”  I was surprised, but realized I had not cared for this relationship and knew nothing about the changes in the business.  Shame on me.

Here is a simple process I use to stay in touch.  It is not perfect — obviously, or I wouldn’t be considered a “new” customer in the eyes of my West Texas electrician!

1.  When adding someone to your network, also add them to a follow-up group.  For me, I assign these groups a letter (A, B, C, etc.) to keep it simple.  For example, I belong to an association of women golfers and all my connections from that group go into my “G” group.  You got it — “G” for golf.

2.  Follow up quickly with new connections.  Learn more about your connection, what they do, interests, etc.  See how you might assist them now or in the future.  Jibberjobber.com is a great tool for managing contacts.

3.  Schedule time each week to follow-up with those in your network.  I schedule at least 60 minutes per week for connecting with new contacts.  One hour allows me time to connect by phone, in person or by Skype.  For established connections, I schedule 30 minutes.

4.  Follow-up methods vary by person, type of relationship and type of last contact.  Mix it up.   I might drop a card in the mail for someone’s birthday or if I notice, through LinkedIn, that someone received a promotion.  Send Out Cards is one of my favorite tools.  I love to send cards, yet I hate going to the store.  Send Out Cards is so easy — it is done from my computer and includes a personal note.  It is printed, stamped and mailed all in minutes.   [In the interest of full disclosure I am a Send Out Card Distributor.]

5.  Finally, for people I see (or saw) on a daily basis I schedule time to really connect — an occasional lunch or coffee or maybe leave a note on their desk to say, “Hi, thought of you last night when your ball team won.”

The bottom line?  Draw water before you need it.  When you stay in touch and show people you care about them, the people in your network will care about you and be there when you need an answer, a referral or an introduction.

We all have time for the things that are important.

Staying connected is easy when you follow the five steps above.  Start small — pick one step.  If you are over-scheduled, look to next month and add one 30-minuted appointment to your calendar or the next time you jump on LinkedIn share a post you enjoyed with someone in your network.

It is often the simple things you do that brighten someone’s day and show you care.  Nurture your relationships and create a “Ruby Connection.”

If you know someone who can benefit from this post, please pass it on.

You did it.  You made a mistake.  Now what?

Trust me, it is not the end of the world — even if you did something illegal, immoral or unethical (though, if this is the case, it will be a bumpier road ahead).  There is life after being fired.

This does not need to be the end of the road.  You are not the first person in the world to get fired.

First, sort out your emotions.  Take a breath.  Tell your family.  If there is something you need to address or apologize for, get it done.

This does not need drag you through the mud or scar you for life.

Second, if there is a behavior or attitude you need to address, decide if you want to address it or not.  Only you can do that.

Know that if you are an ogre who eats people for breakfast or you are the world’s cruelest boss, you have two clear choices:  1)  Find a job where it is OK to eat people and be cruel; or 2) Take an honest look at your behavior and the feedback you received.  Then decide — do I want to learn to alter my behavior or do I deem this behavior as acceptable.  And, by acceptable I mean it will not interfere with your life and future career plans.

Or if you’re thinking, “I am not an ogre, this was a minor infraction.  I was late for work again.  In fact, I am so mad I could spit nails because this is so unfair.  I can’t believe someone would fire me for this tiny thing.”

Again, you have two choices:  find a job where this “tiny thing” is acceptable or learn from what happened, alter your behavior and move forward.

I get it.  MOVING FORWARD MAY NOT BE EASY, but you can do it.

This may be a very emotional time.  Being without a job is tough.

Even if you lost your job through no fault of your own due to a layoff, there will be stress and emotional highs and lows.  I will say it again, and I do it with love and concern, this does not need to be the end of the world as you have known it.

There are many resources and services to help you.  If you want help, you can find it.

The resources and services from Career Centers, counselors and coaches abound.

My hope and prayer for you is simple:  

May you move forward quickly.  May you never stop believing in you.  And, may you never feel that you must walk this path alone.

Today, may you pause and not despair, may you see value in your unique gifts.

May you share your amazing talent and skills with your family, a new employer and the world.

May your career shine bright and may you light the world with your gifts, your work and your life.

You CAN find help no matter the reason you are seeking a new job– even if you were fired.  Your first step?  Decide you are ready to move forward.  Then take specific, consistent action and land a new job.

Do you have a question?  Post it below or contact me.

“A leader may not have answers to all the questions, but knows how to ask the right questions” ~ Unknown

The above quote came to mind as I recently concluded a call with a former client.  He called to ask assistance with a challenging situation — he and his spouse were both currently unemployed.

With both of their children in college, they are empty nesters and felt at a crossroads.  They decided they wanted to talk to a career coach together.  This was a new request for me.  We agreed to set up a call where the three of us would discuss their specific situation and goals and determine if I, or someone in my network, might be able to assist them.

Oftentimes the stress of a job search can be exacerbated by the assumptions or expectations of a spouse/partner or other family member.  Having clear, calm, thoughtful conversations with your spouse or partner is one way to address this challenge.  Here are some powerful questions you can use to guide such a conversation:

• What are your concerns about my being without a job at this time?
• What are your hopes [or fears, or concerns] about the next position I will land?
• What type of financial planning or adjustments do you think are necessary at this time?
• In what timeframe do you feel we should review our financial situation?
• How would you like to be informed of my job search status?
• How would you like to help [or be involved] in my job search process?
• How will you feel if I am unable to find a job with similar status or salary?

An open conversation does not always result in immediate take-aways or agreements, but it will open the door to ongoing conversations that will will clarify your direction and help create a vision to inform your long-term career success.

Do you have a powerful question to add to the list above? Post it below.

Everyday you have opportunities to connect, build relationships and get your brand in front of decision-makers.  Businesses understand the value of this type of connection.  Think about it.  Everyday you receive coupons and offers via snail mail or company newsletters via email.  Why do they invest time and resources in staying in touch?  Simple.  They want you to think of them when you need their product or service.

For example:  If I need a plumber and the plumber I met at the Chamber of Commerce meeting last March mailed me a note, then a coupon, then another note and enclosed a refrigerator magnet with his logo, website and phone number, odds are good that the magnet is on my refrigerator or at least I will recall his name when I (or a friend) need a plumber.

Starting this year, find or create a system for staying in touch with your network and getting those people to be your brand ambassadors.

How do you get started?  Follow the steps below:

1. Create your list.

Who needs to know you?  Start small and focus on key influencers.  You are not building a mass marketing list.  Think of the people you really want to connect with during the first quarter of the year and those you will stay in touch with throughout the year.

2. Make your regular connection all about them.

Whether you craft a note, letter or email (I recommend giving snail mail a try), don’t go on and on about you.  Focus on what the person means to you, acknowledge them as a person and thank them for previous projects — you can even share an experience or fun memory you’ve had with them in the past.  If appropriate, you can mention what you are doing or ask to connect in person.  Don’t send your card, but do add your phone number under your signature or in other appropriate places.

3. Think about your system and how you plan to continue to connect.

A personalized plan is best.  Decide how often you will stay in touch.  Once per quarter is ideal — more often and you are less likely to actually follow-up (or your contacts may begin to wonder why you have so much time on your hands!).  Add holidays, business events and personal events like birthdays or work anniversaries to your systemized plan.

4. Have an impact and make a statement.

This method of connection also helps your network connect with the things that are important to you.  Do you run in charity events?  You could send a card that also supports that cause.  If you are a golfer, send a postcard from your favorite course.  Or design a card yourself using your own personal color of ink.  My plumber does not send coupons for his services, but rather for purchasing trees to help with reforestation and he sends recipes for his favorite cookies around the year-end holidays.  What have I now learned about my plumber?

5. Mix it up.

Don’t always do the same thing — be creative.  There are many tools to help you find creative ways to “reach out and touch” your network.

Connecting, nurturing and staying in touch with your network is a necessity.  Being known and trusted requires being present.  If you wish to leverage your network, you must invest in your network.  Personal marketing, building relationships and connecting helps others know you, which in turn, helps your career and your brand.  When others know who you are they are able to speak to your uniqueness and value.

Connecting with your network is not just a job search task, it is a career management must.  What is your plan for this year?  How will you really connect with your network?

In late January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

Unlocking and unleashing your uniqueness isn’t hard.  Yet, it certainly can feel that way.  Why is that?  I believe that our talents come so naturally to us that we fail to recognize them as unique, and, as such, we don’t focus on that uniqueness.

The systems in our schools and workplaces are not designed to encourage us to look for and leverage those things that make us unique.  Instead, the focus falls on our weaknesses or other areas of improvement.  When encouraged to only seek out and improve your weaknesses, you shift your focus and it is easy to overlook your strengths.

Life is very busy and our brains assist us by filtering all that information.  Research shows we create the filters in our brain through what we focus on.

You know the adage, “Seek and you will find,” right?  If you focus solely on your weaknesses, that is what you will see — all other information is filtered out.  It is hard to see what you are not looking for and you may very well overlook the “special sauce” that makes you unique and successful.

Here are three steps to help you unleash your uniqueness and accelerate your success:

1.  Identify your strengths, gifts and talents.  Begin by compiling a list.  Think about what you do well, what you like to do and what you are good at doing.  Next ask friends, co-workers, even your manager (or look back on old performance reviews) to define your strengths. Then take assessments like StrengthsFinder 2.0, MyNextMove, and 360Reach Personal Branding Survey.

2. Review your strengths list and for each item, ask yourself these questions:

• Does this make me compelling to the decision-makers in my life?
• Does this set me apart from others who do the work I do?
• Does this inspire me and why?
• How does this help me achieve my goals?

3.  Next, put a star by your top three strengths.  Create focus around those strengths.  Observe how these help you achieve your daily duties and bigger professional goals.  Select actions every day that highlight your strengths.  Keep a list of how your strengths help you achieve your goals, inspire you and enhance your performance.

In 30 days you will have unleashed your uniqueness!  I look forward to your sharing YOU with the world — post a comment below and share your unique strengths.

In January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

The holiday season is upon us.  It is a great time of year to connect with your network.

One powerful search tool that is often overlooked is the “gratitude letter.”  This is the perfect time of year to send it to your current network of friends, family and past colleagues.

Most people know between 200 – 250 people.  Many, if not all, of your contacts have helped you in the past and, if they were aware of your current situation, would be willing to help again.  Gratitude Letters create powerful, positive energy and, almost instantly, add 200 people to your search team.

So, what exactly is a “gratitude letter?”  It is an opportunity to reach out, say why you appreciate the person and to share your current activities.  It is NOT a letter begging for a job.  Its purpose is to connect, update and appreciate.

Here is how to get started:

• Make a list of your contacts or print one out from Outlook or your CRM system.
• Next to each name write down one thing you appreciate about that person.
• Then verify you have a current mailing address for each contact.

Now you are ready to draft a simple one page letter.  Include your gratitude, a specific business accomplishment from the last year and what you are doing now.  You might say something like, “I am currently looking for my next opportunity as the Director of Marketing in the metro area specifically with ABC, Inc. or ZXX, Inc.  If you know anyone I should speak with at either organization, please let me know.”

If the contact is someone you would like to meet face-to-face, include a P.S. with a suggestion to meet for coffee or lunch.  For example, “If you want to grab lunch, my treat, either November 30 or December 3 at the Brown Deli, I’d love to catch up and find out what is new with you.”  You can also share in a P.S. that you have a bit of extra time and if there is a business project you could help with to let you know.  Make sure to add your mobile number below the P.S.

Print the letters on your personalized letterhead.  Stuff the envelopes, add a stamp and drop them in the mail.    Remember, the purpose is to show your appreciation and to update your network.

Don’t forget to include family and friends on your list.  The people closest to you may know all about your job search and be your biggest supporters.  As career transitions can be stressful, they are often the people who most need to know you appreciate their support.

Be bold.  If you are coming from a place of honest appreciation your network will be delighted that you took time to contact them in a personal manner.  Few people take time to be appreciative and less take to write a letter.  Connecting regularly with your network is very powerful.

Post a comment and share your favorite tip for sharing appreciation.

Nine Actions – 9 Week Challenge – Week 9

It is week 9 of the Accelerate Your Job Search Results & Create a Life You Love challenge.  The challenge is to take action and transform your search and life in nine weeks.

The final assignment!

Action #9:  Keep Growing

People need to grow in order to be relevant, current and fulfilled.  Make it your lifelong goal to continue to learn complex skills, teach yourself new things, meet new people and visit new places.

You don’t need to be a master at every endeavor.  Mastery of a skill requires about 10,000 hours, while learning a new skill only requires about 20 hours of learning and practicing.

By committing to one hour a day, you can become proficient in a month!  If you love it, go on to the mastery level or choose to become proficient at another new skill.  In a year, you could learn and be proficient at 12 or more new skills.

An amazing life is created through new experiences and daily effort.  Keep growing.

Take action. Post a note, share your thoughts and how you implemented the action of the week and your results.

What of the nine actions you took on this fall helped you the most?

What was your favorite?   Share your best results.

Congratulations for completing the challenge!

What is a challenge without a prize?  After you post your best results, go enter the challenge raffle.

Nine Actions – 9 Week Challenge – Week 8

It is week 8 of the Accelerate Your Job Search Results & Create a Life You Love challenge.  The challenge is to take action and transform your search and life in nine weeks.

Only two weeks remaining in the challenge!  Remember you can revisit Actions 1-7 by scrolling through the previous posts on the Accelerate Your Search blog.  For now, we are on to action #8.

Action #8:  Stop Kicking Dead Horses

Following up and being persistent is critical in business and life, but you also need to know when to stop and change paths.  Life is a cycle — birth, growth, death.  All things (including jobs and interests) begin, continue and end.  Whether it is your interest or the interest of another that has ended, release it.

In a job search, and in life, there are things without answers.  Phone calls or emails may go unanswered.  You may never know why you were released from a job or why an offer was not extended.  I know you want to know.  Ask yourself this, “What value do I gain by knowing?”  Will knowing change the outcome?  There is a point in time where you are best served by abandoning the desire to know.

It is a fact that things changes, times change, people change and evolve.  Passions die and that is OK.  Instead of getting caught up in the past, ask yourself what you want to pursue NOW.  As one thing dies, another is born.  Move on and walk a new path.

Take action. Post a note, share your thoughts and how you implemented the action of the week and your results.

Nine Actions – 9 Week Challenge – Week 7

It is week 7 of the Accelerate Your Job Search Results & Create a Life You Love challenge.  The challenge is to take action and transform your search and life in nine weeks.

Did you add some “spice” to your life last week?

Congrats!  You’ve made it through 6 weeks of the 9 week challenge.  How has your life changed?  Let’s get started on week 7.

Action #7:  Share How You Solve Problems

Everyone has problems.  Some people are miserable because of their problems.  Everyone cares about their problems, not your problems.

This week, focus on how you solve other people’s problems.  Share what you do to relieve the problems and people with those problems will be VERY interested in you and what you do.

Often I hear people say, “Sounds great, but I don’t want to serve others or be a do-good person.  I want a great life, good income and less stress.”  Well, guess what?  Serving others serves you.   It is the best way to achieve a great income and an amazing life with less stress.   Most businesses make money because they deliver a service or product that solves a problem and make someone’s life better.

The truth is, creating an amazing life, one where you earn the salary you deserve, have less stress, and enjoy what you do, usually revolves around solving the challenges or problems of others — be it a boss, a customer or a vendor.

Solving the problems of others creates joy, interest and fun.  Isn’t that something you are looking for in your next position?  Share what problems you solve and people will call you.

Take action. Post a note, share your thoughts and how you implemented the action of the week and your results